Pro gofer Eddie Pepperell was disqualified Saturday after he ran out of balls during the third round of the Turkish Airlines Open, in a moment that didn’t quite measure up to the famous scene in the movie Tin Cup.
As a refresher, in the 1996 Kevin Costner film, Costner’s character had only one ball left in his bag to make a long distance iron shot. If he put the shot in the drink, he was to be disqualified from the tournament, the plot maintained. Naturally, Costner’s character not only made it over the water, but he also sank the shot with that one, long distance stroke.
Things did not turn out so rosy for Pepperell, the 47th ranked golfer in the word, the New York Post reported.
The golfer was attempting to get over the water on the Par-5 fourth hole when he popped his ball into the water at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal course. Unfortunately, several more attempts didn’t get him over the water, either. Then he ran himself out of balls.
It appears that Pepperell was so disgusted with himself that he just bagged the whole thing. According to one account of the incident, Pepperell simply walked off the hole and quit the round after telling playing partners Martin Kaymer and George Coetzee that he had run out of balls.
According to PGA rules, if a player runs out of balls, he can borrow some from another player or even buy some at the course pro shop during the round. But Pepperell didn’t ask to borrow a ball. He just walked away.
Kaymer added that Pepperell might have dunked as many as five shots into the drink before he threw in the towel.
“I have never seen anything like that before. I only watched it on television, in Tin Cup. This is the first time I have seen it live,” Kaymer remarked.
His playing partners said he appeared completely uninterested in playing and even putted the previous hole with his wedge instead of his putter.
When asked about the incident by Golfworld, the 28-year-old golfer simply replied that he had “nothing to add really.”
Ultimately, Peperell was disqualified for “failure to complete a hole.” He could even face a fine over the incident.
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